


It Started On A Ferris Wheel

by Musickat18



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background GingerRose, F/M, Fluff, two clueless idiots and the friends who help them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26658286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musickat18/pseuds/Musickat18
Summary: Rey and Ben are dragged to the fall festival by their friends, Hux and Rose. Little do they know, the entire day is a setup to get them to realize they like each other.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 26
Kudos: 81
Collections: The PL First Birthday: Anniversary Exchange





	It Started On A Ferris Wheel

Rey sighed.

Rose and Hux were the worst type of couple. They didn’t care about PDA, were completely oblivious to the stares and snickers of their classmates and how awkward it made things for their best friends. Rey chanced a glance at Ben, her heart jumping when their eyes connected.

She looked away quickly, picking up a french fry and putting it in her mouth for something to do. She tried to ignore the sounds of Hux sucking Rose’s face off.

When Rose and Hux became a couple, Rey had told her friend she was fine sitting somewhere else at lunch, assuming Ben would be there and not sure she could handle twenty minutes, five days a week of trying to make conversation while their friends ignored them. Rose, however, had been insistent on Rey sitting with her, claiming she needed moral support in her new relationship.

Rey shoved another fry in her mouth, cringing when Rose moaned. Her cheeks flushed with secondhand embarrassment.

“Can you two stop?”

Rey glanced up at Ben, ignoring the popping sound as Rose and Hux came up for air. He had the same look of annoyance on his face that she was sure was on hers.

“What?” Hux asked.

He and Ben exchanged glares.

“Some people are trying to eat,” Ben said. “We don’t need a soundtrack of you two kissing in the background. It’s gross. Save it for when you’re alone.”

Hux’s face grew red with anger. He opened his mouth but Rose put a hand on his shoulder, glancing over at Rey.

Rey realized she had a fry halfway to her mouth and shoved it in.

“It’s fine, Armie.”

Rey’s mouth twitched, trying to keep a smile off her face at Rose’s nickname for Hux. Rose was the only one allowed to all him anything but Hux. Rey usually forgot his parents had cursed him with the name Armitage.

Rose finally picked up her sandwich, sitting neglected while she had been attached at the lips with Hux.

“You’re coming to the fall festival on Saturday, right?” Rose asked, taking a bite.

“No.”

Both Rey and Ben answered at the same time.

Hux snorted into his own sandwich as Rose rolled her eyes.

“You both have to come.”

Rey traded a glance with Ben, ignoring the odd thump in her heart. “Why exactly?”

Rose sighed, exasperated. “Rey, you never do anything. This is high school. Have some experiences.”

Rey opened her mouth to object but Rose turned to Ben, berating him as well.

“You only do something if it involves football. You need to learn to have fun doing other things.”

Hux didn’t try to hide his snicker. Ben glared at him.

He turned back to Rose, and both he and Rey opened their mouth to speak. Rose held up a finger.

“Bup up up. No. I won’t take no for an answer. You’re going to the fall festival with Armie and me on Saturday. We’ll pick you both up at three.”

* * *

Ben sat on his steps, waiting for Hux’s car to show up.

He kind of wished he hadn’t agreed to the day. It was going to be tough to be around Rey all day. It was hard enough sitting with her at lunch every day, and now it was going to be the whole day.

He had a suspicion that Hux knew he liked Rey. Ben blew out a puff of air. Hux probably said something to Rose and that’s why she insisted both he and Rey go today. It wasn’t like they wanted either him or Rey around, since they’ll probably spend the whole day making out and ignoring their friends.

A conspicuous red convertible pulled up to the curb.

Ben’s stomach flipped when he saw Rey was already sitting in the back behind Rose. He got to his feet, jogging lightly to the car.

He winced when he saw how little room there was, swinging his legs over the side and sliding down. Rey looked away, seeming to lean away from him, but without any extra space, they were pressed against one another from shoulder to toes.

Ben swallowed, hyper aware of Rey’s warmth at his side. He looked unseeing at the scenery flying by.

It was a nice day, but a little too chilly to be riding in a convertible without the top up. He shivered, folding his arms and tucking his hands under his armpits.

He snuck a look at Rey, noting she was curled in on herself. He briefly thought about putting his arm around her and pulling her to his side to warm her up, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Rey had made it clear that she didn’t enjoy his company. She never looked at or spoke to him, despite being the only other person at their table at lunch who wasn’t making out.

The ride to the festival felt way too long and not long enough all at the same time. He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally pulled into a parking space. He leaped out, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

He glanced at Rey, heart skipping a beat when his gaze met hers. Rey looked away immediately, shoving Rose’s seat forward so she could exit the car.

They did that a lot, looking at each other at the same time, and every time it was like a jolt to his system.

Rose was nearly skipping as they made their way to the entrance. After paying the entrance fee, they headed to the ticket booth. Hux put an ungodly sum into the machine, handing the tickets to Rose, who somehow managed to fold them neatly and fit them into her purse.

Ben started to pull out his wallet to do the same thing, but Hux rolled his eyes. “They’re for all of us, idiot.”

Ben frowned.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“No, that’s ok,” Rey said at the same time.

She opened her small, ragged purse, pulling out a bill. Before she could put it into the machine, Rose snatched it out of her hand.

“Nope. Hux bought the thickets for all of us. We made you come, after all. It’s hardly fair to make you spend your hard-earned money at a fair you don’t even want to be at.”

Rey shook her head. “No, really. It’s ok. You were right. I should get out more.”

Hux closed his eyes. “Rey. The polite thing to do when someone is offering to pay is to say thank you.”

Ben watched Rey as she seemed to grapple with the concept before finally nodding her head once, sharply.

Rose beamed. “Excellent. What should we ride first?”

* * *

Rey knew it was stupid to feel guilty for using the tickets Hux had purchased, but she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t used to anyone paying her way. She had been bounced around foster homes her whole life and had never had much more than what could fit into a trash bag. She had started working as soon as was legal to pay her own way in the world.

Rey watched, slightly envious, as Rose babbled excitedly, latched onto Hux’s arm. When Rose first told Rey that she and Hux were a thing, Rey had struggled to understand why her friend would even be attracted to a jerk like Hux. He hadn’t necessarily gone out of his way to bully people, but he definitely wasn’t out to be anyone’s friend.

Oddly enough, however, Rose seemed to bring out Hux’s nice side. He had stopped making snide remarks to people, likely at Rose’s request, and he seemed to genuinely enjoy Rose’s company.

Hux smiled down at Rose, and Rey tried to squash her jealousy. Rose and Hux had exactly what Rey craved.

She knew what would happen today. She would be riding rides with Ben—trying to hide her massive crush on him—while Rose and Hux rode together. She had thought several times of just blowing the whole thing off, faking an illness. She had certainly worried over her ability to afford tickets. In the end, against her better judgement, she had decided to go.

The temptation of a full day with Ben was too good to pass up, even if he did generally pretend she didn’t exist.

So now, here she was, walking beside him with Hux and Rose ahead of them, headed for the ferris wheel. They got in line, Rose handing the ride operator tickets for the four of them. Rose and Hux got on first, leaving Rey and Ben standing in awkward silence as they waited for the next available car.

Rey got in first, sitting as far right as she could. Ben did the same, sitting as far left as he could.

The problem was that the car wasn’t very big, and Ben was very broad, so they were still nearly touching.

The wheel spun, stopping to let new riders on as Rey tried not to let the awkward silence get to her. As they spun got higher on the wheel, she gripped the bar in front of them, trying not to look down.

“I hate ferris wheels,” Ben said, breaking the silence.

Rey smiled. She sneaked a glance at Ben, who was staring out in front of him, a white-knuckled grip on the bar in front of them.

“Yeah,” Rey said, wincing internally at how inept she was at conversation. “Me too.”

Ben half-smiled at her, just one corner of his mouth tilting up. “I mean, these rides are assembled in a day. How safe can they really be?”

Rey laughed. “Yeah, not very safe.”

She struggled to think of something else to say to keep the conversation going but couldn’t think of anything.

They lapsed back into silence, though perhaps not as awkward as before.

When they reached the top, the ride jerked to a stop. They both sucked in a breath, trying to hold as still as possible, gripping the bar as the car swung back and forth.

“If we die, I’m haunting Rose,” Rey said through her teeth.

“Sounds good,” Ben said. “I’ll haunt Hux.”

Laughter bubbled out of Rey’s mouth as the ride finally started spinning. She smiled at Ben, forgetting she was supposed to be scared.

He seemed stunned for a moment before returning her smile.

Her heart flipped. Ben hardly ever smiled and she was beginning to think that was a good thing. There would be an epidemic of heart palpitations in the school.

The smile slipped from her face as they continued to stare at one another. She felt as if her vision had narrowed down to just Ben. She knew she should look away, that it was probably weird to keep staring, but then again, Ben was staring too.

Her heart thumped oddly, the sounds of the festival fading away.

Without realizing it, she started leaning towards him.

Was he leaning towards her too? She wasn’t sure.

She licked her lips, her eyes slipping down to look at his mouth before moving back up to his eyes.

She thought she heard his breath catch as she inched closer.

The moment was ruined when the car jerked to a stop.

Rey sucked in a breath, turning forward again. Her cheeks heated as thoughts raced. Had Ben almost kissed her? Or had she almost kissed him? Did she imagine that?

Yes.

She definitely had to have imagined it. Ben Solo didn’t like her, not in that way.

She was so caught up in her own head that she didn’t even realize when it was their turn to get off the ride until Ben called her name. Rey nearly ran to where Rose and Hux were waiting.

“Have fun?” Rose asked, a bright smile on her face.

Rey just nodded. She glanced at Ben as he walked past her without answering.

Rose and Hux exchanged a glance.

“Ooookay,” Rose said, frowning at Ben. “What should we do next?”

“How about the games?” Rey said, hoping to steer Rose and Hux away from anything else that would pair her with Ben, at least until she had time to collect herself.

Rose shrugged. “Sure.”

The four of them walked to the row of games, she and Ben on either side of Hux and Rose rather than walking behind. They bobbed for apples, played the ring toss—Hux winning a stuffed dog for Rose—and threw darts at balloons.

Ben won a prize that last one. He seemed grumpy, snapping at the guy that he didn’t care what prize he got. He was handed a small pink teddy bear.

Rey’s eyes widened when he held the bear out to her. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She probably resembled a fish opening and closing her mouth.

A muscle in Ben’s jaw ticked as he started to lower his hand.

“No, wait!”

Rey snatched the bear from his hand.

Ben looked away. “You don’t have to take it.”

Rey clutched the bear to her chest. “No. I like it.” She bit her lip as he looked back at her. “Thanks.”

Ben nodded once, looking away.

Rey’s cheeks heated again when she realized that Rose and Hux were watching her and Ben.

“What next?” she added, wincing internally at how fake her bright tone sounded.

Rose rolled her lips over her teeth, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

“More rides?”

Rey glanced at Ben, definitely not forgetting how close they’d come to kissing on the ferris wheel and still not sure if she had imagined it.

“Um…sure?”

“Wait!”

She, Ben, and Hux froze as Rose held out a hand. “There’s a corn maze!”

She turned to Hux. “Let’s do that.”

Hux shrugged. “Sounds cool.”

Rose grabbed his hand and pulled Hux after her as she nearly ran to the corn maze. Rey could see Rose saying something to Hux in a hushed tone. She frowned, wondering what had gotten into her friend.

After Rose handed over the tickets, they entered the maze. No one said anything, Hux just nodding as Rose suggested which way to go. Rey and Ben followed behind, neither speaking.

The maze paths weren’t wide and there were a lot of people in them, so Rey kept finding herself bumping into Ben’s side. Their hands kept brushing, and Rey had to resist the pull to grab his hand.

Suddenly Rose stopped, Rey nearly bumping into her as she turned around.

“I think we should split up.”

Ben stared at her blankly. “Why?”

Rose shrugged. “It’ll be fun. We can see who makes it out first.”

Rey glanced at Ben, who shoved his hands into his pockets, just shrugging. Rey caught Hux rolling his eyes.

“Great!” Rose said, though Rey hadn’t actually agreed. “We’ll go right and you guys go left.”

Without waiting for Rey or Ben to respond, Rose turned and pulled Hux with her, leaving Rey and Ben alone.

They both stood, not speaking, before Ben cleared his throat. “I guess we should get going left.”

Rey nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground. “Yeah, sound good.”

* * *

Ben was about 99.9% sure that Hux and/or Rose had orchestrated this whole day in order to get him and Rey together. Rose wasn’t exactly subtle.

As he and Rey walked next to each other, hands brushing as they squeezed past people, he once again replayed that moment on the ferris wheel.

She had definitely leaned in. Right? He didn’t think he had imagined it. She had looked at his lips, which was the universal “I want to kiss you” move.

And she had definitely snatched that stupid bear out of his hands. Why would she do that much if she didn’t like him back?

He had spent the last however many hours rethinking all their interactions at lunch, trying to see if there was anything he had missed, some cue that she liked him like he liked her. He was coming up empty.

Maybe Rey just hid her feelings well… really well.

Or maybe she just realized she liked him too while on the ferris wheel.

“Which way?”

He blinked rapidly as Rey directed her question at him.

“Oh. Um…left I guess.”

Rey nodded, biting her lip as she glanced at him and then back at the ground.

He wanted to recreate the almost kiss and make it an actual kiss. The problem was he didn’t know how. Sure, they weren’t with Rose and Hux at the moment, but they weren’t exactly alone either. They were passing people all the time. It wasn’t the alone time like on the ferris wheel.

Rey asked him again which direction. He picked one randomly, no idea which way was out. They walked around a curve, straight into a dead end.

They were surprisingly alone, most people seeming to pick the opposite direction.

This was his chance.

Rey turned to go back the way they came. Ben put a hand on her shoulder, trying to ignore the raging case of butterflies in his stomach.

“Wait a second.”

She looked bemused, waiting for him to speak.

“Um.”

Ben inhaled, stretching his lungs as far as they would go as he gathered his courage. He closed his eyes as he spoke in a rush.

“I really like you.”

When Rey made no noise, either positive or negative, he opened his eyes and looked down at her.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth opened in surprise.

She blinked rapidly, shaking her head. “Wh-what?”

He swallowed. “I really like you, Rey.”

“As a friend?” Her voice was an octave higher.

He shook his head, beginning to regret saying anything in the wake of her less-than-excited response.

“No.”

She continued shaking her head, disbelief coloring her voice. “I—what—you—what?”

Well, he was already in the frying pan. He might as well turn up the heat.

He took a half step closer, slowly raising his hands to rest lightly on her shoulders. The sounds of the corn maze faded away as she tilted her head up, her gaze bouncing from one eye to the other to his lips and back again.

“Do you like me?” His voice choked off at the end as the fear that he’d misread everything crept up his throat.

There was a long pause, during which he considered making a run for it, before she nodded her head.

“Yes.”

Time seemed to stop as Ben tried to make sense of the single word.

She had said yes.

She liked him.

Her eyes dropped to his lips again, wetting her own as she did so.

Without pausing to think, he cupped his hands on either cheek and pressed his lips to hers.

She stiffened.

His heart leaped into his throat. Immediately berating himself for misreading the situation and kissing her without asking first, he started to pull away.

Rey made a distressed noise, throwing her arms around his neck, standing on her toes, and kissing him back.

The world entirely faded away, all his focus now on Rey’s lips against his and her fingers combing through his hair. He moved his hands from her face to rest lightly on her waist, holding her up on her toes.

This had to be the best kiss in the history of kisses. Ben felt like he could float away, relief making him feel weak-kneed and weightless.

A wolf-whistle broke through his concentration.

He pulled away, glaring at some guys watching them and laughing.

Grabbing Rey’s hand, he pulled her through the group, turning in a random direction to get away. Rey allowed herself to be pulled behind him for several minutes before she gently tugged them to a stop.

“Hey.” She glanced around. They were once again alone in a stretch of corn. “Are you ok?”

Ben looked down at her, relieved he didn’t find any regret in her hazel eyes.

He nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. You?”

He traced his thumb along her cheekbone.

She smiled at him. “Yeah.”

She slid her hand over his, pulling it from her face and lacing their fingers together. “Let’s finish this maze, yeah?”

He smiled back. “Yeah.”

* * *

They took their time, walking through the maze hand-in-hand. Kids of all ages darted around them, laughing. Rey couldn’t stop smiling. She tried biting the inside of her cheeks but it didn’t do anything to stop her lips from turning up.

Ben Solo actually liked her.

This was possibly the biggest shock of her life.

After far too long—and not lot enough—they made their way out of the maze.

“Finally.”

Rey beamed at Hux’s surly expression as Ben said, “Piss off, Hux.”

Rose gasped, looking from their clasped hands to both their faces, and then turned to Hux, lightly slapping his arm.

“I _told_ you it would work!”

Hux rolled his eyes as Rey and Ben shared a glance.

“What?” Rey asked Rose.

But it was Hux who answered. “Please. You two have been the biggest and least subtle idiots. I’m surprised you finally figured out you both like each other.”

Rey stared blankly, and Ben said, “What? How did you know?”

Rose laughed. “You guys were pretty obvious. Always making googly-eyes at each other.”

Ben choked. “I have not made googly-eyes at anyone. And how would you two know anyway? You’re permanently attached at the lips.”

Rose looped her arm through Hux’s, shrugging. “Like Armie said, you’re not very subtle.”

“Was whole day was a set-up?” Rey asked, finally finding her voice.

Rose tilted her head back and forth. “More or less, yeah.”

Rey turned to look at Ben, frowning. “Was I that obvious?”

Ben shook his head. “No. I had no idea until today.”

Rose tugged Hux over, looping her other arm through Rey’s. “Doesn’t matter now, because you both finally figured it out. Now we can go on couple’s dates!”

Rey looked over at Ben, biting her lip and smiling at the appalled expression on his face.

“Yeah,” she said. “We’d love that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading. :)
> 
> If you enjoyed this fic, here are some others you might like:  
>  **[A Scandalous Match](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15160505/chapters/35158235), rated T, 63,698 words, Complete:** The first fic in my Regency Reylo series. If you like Pride and Prejudice, then you'll enjoy this Jane Austen-inspired fic.
> 
> **[Fugue de Saudade](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21007841/chapters/49961426), rated T, 79,219 words, complete:** A Modern AU non-linear story in which Ben and Rey meet and fall in love over a mutual love for music. They were parted for three years, each devastated and left thinking the other had ghosted them. Watch them fall in love and deal with the pain of reconciliation with the backdrop of Juilliard and music. 
> 
> **[A Greater Balance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13558176/chapters/31112049), rated T, 37,821 words, complete:** A post-TLJ canon take on what episode 9 could have been. (It was also my first Reylo fic. :) )
> 
> **[That Which Makes A Person](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14263674), rated T, 3814 words, complete:** A post-TLJ canon one-shot. As the force continues to connect them, Ben is forced to deal with the emotional consequences of his actions. To get what he wants he'll have to make some changes.
> 
> **[A Chance To Heal The Galaxy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23334514), rated T, 1572 words, complete:** A one-shot in which Padme saves Ben by pulling him into the World Between Worlds.
> 
> **[Weesa Goin Go For A Swim!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305846), rated T, 4212 words, complete:** A zany one-shot in which Rey finds out she is the daughter of Jar Jar Binks


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